loss of soil nutrients, causes of loss of soil nutrients. WAYS IN WHICH SOIL NUTRIENTS CAN BE LOST 1) Crop Removal. loss of soil nutrient occurs when the quantities of nutrients supplied by the soil to planted crops is below the quantities of nutrients required by the plant to grow adequately is the result of loss of soil nutrients
loss of soil nutrients
In this situation, the nutrient requirements of the crop are met from soil reserves until these reserves cannot meet crop demands. This results in a reduction of plant growth and yield which is a direct result of loss of soil nutrients
HOW DOES SOIL LOOSE IT’S NUTRIENTS
i. Nutrients are removed from the soil by crops for growth, development and production.
ii. When the crops are harvested, the nutrients contained in the plants are never returned to the soil=== loss of soil nutrients
iii. The rapid removal of nutrients from the soil by continuous croppingg completely deprives the soil of such nutrients.
some major causes of erosion and it affects soil nutrients
(2) Erosion
(i) Heavy rainfall causes the washing or carrying away of top soil which is rich in plant nutrients.
Top soil can also be blown away by winds, resulting in nutrient reduction in the soil.
(3) Leaching that leads to loss of soil nutrients
(i) This is the removal of nutrients from the top soil to the inner parts of the soil beyond the reach of the roots of plant.
It results in the loss of nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium from the top soil in solution.
(iii) It also results in the accumulation of aluminum and hydrogen ions which become acidic and toxic to plants
(4) pH: The degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil affects the availability of nutrients both in the soil and also to plants
(i) A low pH (high acidity) will encourage the disintegration of clay minerals 111cc calcium, iron and aluminium ions which are leached away from the soil
(ii) At high pH (high alkalinity) calcium and magnesium ions accumulate in the soll which affects the growth of plants
(iii) A low pH also reduce, the actively of soil living organism which aid the decomposition of organic matter.
(5) Excess of Other Nutrients
(i) The presence of certain element(s) in high concentration may prevent the absorption or utilization of other elements. read about macro and micro-trace elements here
(ii) The concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil results in the non-availability of potassium.
(iii) This condition results in retarded growth, low yield or even death of the plant.
(6) Oxidation and Reduction of Organic Materials
(i) Some compounds such as ammonium radicals are oxidised to gaseous ammonia.
(ii) Nitrates are also reduced to molecular nitrogen or oxides of nitrogen by denitrifying bacteria.
(iii) These products i.e, ammonium radicals and nitrates which escape into the atmosphere in form of gases make the soil become poorer in nutrients.
loss of soil nutrients
total output continues to increase from 10 to 30, to 60, to 120 and so on. But as the fifth (5th) labour was used or employed, there was a drop in production from 120 to 100. This is the stage at which the law of diminishing returns sets in as every additional unit of labour brings about a decrease in the total output
Importance of the law of diminishing returns
- Proper combination of factors of production: The law of diminishing returns helps the entrepreneur to combine properly the factors of production to prevent wastage
- Changes in scale of production: The law of diminishing returns helps entrepreneurs to change the scale of production through the variation of the quantities of all input
- It ensures efficiency: As more and more variable factors are added to a fixed factor, it eventually comes to a profitable level and productivity and efficiency are maintained using labour requires little or no formal education.
They do not use mental effort,
rather, they make use of physical effort or energy in production, hence their jobs are popularly referred to as brown collar jobs.
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